Inletkeeper Blog
The systems that bind us
In my early years learning about the ecology of streams, I spent a few summers in the sagebrush country of southeastern Oregon. I was studying desert springs measuring water chemistry, collecting bugs and identifying plants associated with each little oasis....
Taking Back Facts & Science: We Have to Understand the Problem Before We can Address It
The manufactured upheaval around this year’s Presidential election begs a vital question: how do we address our society’s most pressing issues when facts and science have been thrown under the bus? By all accounts, our communications ecosystem today is toxic. Shadowy...
Growing Resilient Communities: Alaska Farmers Market Association, A Year-End Review
To say it’s been a wild and uncertain year would be an understatement. The pandemic lockdown started just as markets and farmers around Alaska were preparing for a busy summer growing season. Would markets be allowed to open? What would farmers do with all their...
Does Cook Inlet Need More Oil & Gas Leasing and Dumping?
Early last September, as fishermen left the Homer Harbor for nearby cod and halibut fishing grounds, the 273’ seismic vessel Polarcus Alima darkened the horizon in Kachemak Bay. The massive vessel - under contract to Hilcorp - proceeded to blast seismic airguns for...
For Peat’s Sake
How do we value the land? This is the conversation the Homer Drawdown community has begun to explore. The most emphasized valuation of land is based on its market value. Of course, the worth of land cannot wholly be captured by monetary figures. The way the land feeds...
Dunleavy Chooses Oil Over Salmon in Cook Inlet
This past week, the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council sent shockwaves across Alaska when it abruptly closed commercial salmon fishing in the federal waters of Lower Cook Inlet. The closure resulted from the State of Alaska’s blanket refusal to work with the...
People, Planet and Profits: Pillars for Building Sustainable & Equitable Food Systems
Food systems, like all systems, are made up of interconnected links, with change in one link inevitably affecting others. Links include all aspects of the food system, from farmers to processors, to retail and transportation. Our modern food system is focused on...
GreenWave’s Regenerative Ocean Farming: A Case Study in Generating Ecosystem Services
Currently about 40% of the world’s population resides within 100 kilometers from the coast, many of which depend on ocean resources to make a living, through subsistence, tourism, recreation, and other economic activities. In 2010, 39% (123.3 million) of US...
Is the Pebble Mine Dead?
On the day before Thanksgiving, Alaskans woke to astounding news: the Army Corps rejected a major permit for the Pebble mine. Never before had the Army Corps rejected a major permit for a large oil, gas or mining project in Alaska. Never. And it only came about after...
PEBBLE MINE IS A GIANT BLACK EYE FOR ALASKA
When I was young and my mom thought I was running with the wrong crowd, she had a simple admonition: if you lay down in the gutter, you get up dirty. That was long ago. But today, when I look at our industry “partners” in Alaska, it feels like we’re wallowing in the...